1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to wrestling dolls for use by boys under the age of nine, and more particularly to a doll of this type which acts as a surrogate for a wrestling opponent and which when grappled with by a boy player gives him a workout enlisting various sets of muscles to promote his general state of fitness.
2. Status of Prior Art
An exerciser is a device requiring muscular strength to operate, the set of muscles involved depending on its nature. Thus a spring-type arm exerciser provided with handles makes it possible for the user to repeatedly stretch the spring and thereby exercise his arm muscles. But in order to promote an individual's general state of fitness, it is necessary that the individual exercise various sets of muscles distributed throughout his body.
In many respects, the exercise which best promotes an individual's general of fitness is free-style wrestling in which two unarmed opponents grapple with each other in order to secure a fall in which the wrestler pins the shoulders of his opponent to the floor. Free style wrestling body engages the entire body of each wrestler and enlists virtually all of the muscles.
Some historians believe that prehistoric man participated in wrestling contests. But all historians recognize that in ancient Greece wrestlers ranked second only to discus throwers as Olympic heroes.
In the United States, professional wrestling as well as college wrestling is in a free style which permits crunching, tackling, tripping, leg holds and other forms of physical contact. But in Continental Europe, the wrestling rules are much stricter, for tripping is not permitted, nor are holds below the waist.
While boys in a 3 to 8 year age range, when free of supervision, will often wrestle with each other, this is an activity that parents do not encourage, for a stronger boy, in vigorously wrestling with a weaker one, may without meaning to do so injure his opponent. However, a popular surrogate for a wrestling opponent is a wrestling doll which typically is about three feet in height and has the body of a boy. This doll is stuffed with compressible material, such as cotton padding or flexible plastic foam so that a boy player wrestling with the doll can safely grapple with it and subject it to various forms of wrestling activity, such as arm or leg holds.
A young boy playing with a wrestling doll can indulge in any type of free-style activity, such as crunching the head against the torso of the doll, and twisting or bending the arm and leg appendages. Because professional wrestling is often seen on television a boy player may seek to imitate a professional performance. Thus to the floor and score a victory over his surrogate opponent. Some boys develop a relationship with their wrestling doll, treating the doll as a home companion.
Yet a standard wrestling doll falls short of being an effective exercise device that promotes a boy player's general state of fitness. The reason for this limitation is that it takes relatively little effort and strength on the part of the boy player to wrestle with the doll, for the doll offers almost no resistance to this activity.
Thus a boy player can spend an extended period grappling with a wrestling doll without getting a workout, for little muscular strength is required to carry out this activity.
Without some degree of physical exertion, there is no exercise. Because a boy player grappling with a conventional wrestling doll can manipulate the doll without straining his muscles to do so, the player does not gain the benefit of exercise, hence this play activity does not promote fitness.